Nvidia is putting more muscle behind mobile gaming with the release of four new mobile GPUs in the GeForce GTX 800M line.

The new graphics cardsthe GeForce GTX 880M, 870M, 860M and 850Moffer better performance and power management, along with several features previously available only on desktop-class GPUs. The new hardware will be seen in premium gaming laptops in the coming weeks.

Mobile Gaming and Multimedia
The four new graphics cardsthe 880M, 870M, 860M, and 850Mare all part of Nvidia's GeForce GTX line, which now encompasses all gaming-oriented hardware. Built for the slim environs of laptops and ultrabooks, the new mobile GPUs feature a slim Z-height, improved energy efficiency, and most importantly, offer more potent gaming performance than previous mobile graphics solutions.

The 880M and 870M cardNvidia's premium gaming hardwarewill feature the same Kepler architecture seen on the previous GeForce GTX 780M. Designed with premium gaming in mind, the GPUs are built to provide playable results at ultra-high detail settings at 1080p. The more affordable 860M and 850M GPU'sNvidia's midrange offeringswill instead feature the new Maxwell architecture, like that already available in the GeForce GTX 750 Ti desktop GPU. While still built to provide playable frame rates at 1080p, these midrange cards will support high detail settings at full HD, rather than the ultra-high settings offered by the premium models. The new GPUs will be available this month, appearing in gaming notebooks and ultraportables from Alienware, Asus, Gigabyte, Lenovo, MSI, and Razer.

Nvidia is also releasing the GeForce 840M and 830M GPUs for multimedia systems. Built for video and multimedia rather than gaming performanceas indicated by the lack of GTX brandingthese graphics processors join the already available GeForce 820M, providing rich media support for notebooks and ultrabooks.

New Features
Taking mobile gaming a step further, the new 800M series offers Battery Boost, a suite of software and system optimizations that allow gaming-level performance on the go with better efficiency and longer battery life while still offering gaming capability. Using techniques such as frame-rate targeting, BIOS tweaks, and similar optimizations, Battery Boost stretches battery life automatically, with an easy-to-use tool in GeForce Experience, which lets you tweak the specifics, such as the desired frame rate. Battery Boost settings can also be set to different power-use profiles for different games, letting you tweak specifics for the best experience in each.

The new hardware also benefits from several features previously seen only desktops. Nvidia's ShadowPlay, for example, gives users a way to record in-game content for sharing and editing. With ShadowPlay enabled, users can either save moments from the game as they happen, thanks to a running DVR-style recording that records for a preset 5- to 20-minute window of time, or manually start recording to capture longer stretches of gameplayas much footage as your hard drive can hold. ShadowPlay uses the GPU's own frame buffer to record on-screen content at full resolution, with no lag or stuttering, and without placing additional demands on the GPU itself, so actual gameplay is unaffected by ShadowPlay. This capability goes beyond just recording clips, however, letting you also broadcast games through streaming services like Twitch.tv, and share videos with YouTube.

The new 800M series will be shipping with the updated GeForce Experience ready to go, but ShadowPlay will also be coming to several cards already on the market. Nvidia is extending ShadowPlay capability to all GeForce GTX 700M, GeForce GTX 680M, 675MX, 670MX, and GTX 660M GPUs as part of an update to GeForce Experience.

The new GPUs will also feature GameStream, which lets you enjoy your PC games with the freedom of a gaming handheld using Nvidia Shield. With GameStream, you can either enjoy your PC games streamed to the Shield handheld, or connect the Shield to a TV, streaming your games through the Shield in console mode.

About the Author

Brian Westover is an Analyst for the Hardware Team, reviewing laptops, desktops, and storage devices.
As a child, Brian was frequently asked "What do you want to be when you grow up?" His answer alternated between Superman and Batman. This was cute when he was five, but worrisome at seventeen. Naturally, he is now a journalist, writing about tec... See Full Bio

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